Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.17.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTRS. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Northern Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,184.80. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,630,839. This trade represents a 37.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,151 shares of company stock worth $8,489,889. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,685 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 13.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,413,620 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $622,596,000 after acquiring an additional 850,556 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $386,809,000 after acquiring an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Northern Trust by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,046,757 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $591,787,000 after acquiring an additional 261,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,003,675 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $168,253,000 after purchasing an additional 219,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:NTRS traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,524,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,037,608. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.08. The business's 50 day moving average is $105.68 and its 200 day moving average is $94.88. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $76.67 and a fifty-two week high of $111.87.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.